Hannah and Her Sisters

Hannah and Her Sisters was released in 1986 and directed by Woody Allen. Rather than simply retelling the plot, the film is worth revisiting for the characters, conflicts and ideas that give its story its identity.

Love, Greed and Family emerge through what the characters face and the choices they make, giving the story more to explore beyond its immediate plot.

Lee, April and Elliot do not begin the film seeing one another clearly, and watching those first impressions break down is a big part of why Hannah and Her Sisters still works.

The story is told in three main story arcs, with most of it occurring during a 24-month period beginning and ending at Thanksgiving parties, held at The Langham, hosted by Hannah and her husband, Elliot.

Hannah, a renowned actress who now focuses mainly on her family, serves as the stalwart hub of the narrative; most of the events of the film connect to her. That detail matters because it shapes the way the characters initially see one another.

Elliot becomes infatuated with one of Hannah's sisters, Lee, and eventually begins an affair with her. From there, the film can concentrate less on explaining the setup and more on what happens between the people inside it.

Barbara Hershey plays Lee.

That family connection gives Lee a clearer emotional stake in what happens.

Lee has lived for five years with a reclusive artist, Frederick, who is much older.

For the remainder of the year between the first and second Thanksgiving gatherings, Elliot and Lee carry on their affair despite Elliot's inability to end his marriage to Hannah.

Carrie Fisher plays April. After borrowing money from Hannah, she starts a catering business with April, a friend and fellow actress.

That relationship helps define April beyond the immediate plot mechanics.

Holly and April end up as rivals in auditions for parts in Broadway musicals, as well as for the affections of an architect, David.

The movie has more on its mind than the basic setup suggests. love sits close to the centre of the film, but it is explored through the characters rather than treated like a lesson.

greed matters just as much. The film keeps challenging the assumptions its characters make about one another, which is where much of its emotional weight comes from.

There is also plenty here about family and corporate power. Those ideas overlap rather than sitting in separate boxes, which helps the movie feel like a story about people rather than a checklist of themes.

The film could hardly be separated from the decade that produced it. Released in 1986, it carries the attitudes, style and filmmaking rhythms of the 1980s without needing to announce them.

It also sits comfortably within the era's romantic comedy and drama filmmaking, even if the movie itself is more interesting than any single genre label suggests.

That is part of why it still appears in conversations about 1980s movies and 1980s romantic comedy movies. The film has become tied not only to its own story but to the wider memory of what 1980s movies felt like.

Watching Hannah and Her Sisters now means seeing both what has lasted and what unmistakably belongs to 1986.

What still works best is the human material. Ideas around love, greed and family have not stopped being relevant simply because the clothes, language and cultural references belong to another era.

Some moments inevitably land differently for a modern audience. Revisiting an older film properly means enjoying what still works without pretending every choice has aged equally well.

A large part of that staying power comes from the characters. Lee, April and Elliot are still useful shorthand for the personalities and pressures the film explores.

Carpenter's film has lasted because people continue to recognise something in it. Nostalgia helps, but nostalgia alone does not keep a movie in the conversation for decades.